Kishoka YOUTH Organization Collects plastic waste so that it can be reused.

Community, schools, and tourists literally produce tons of plastic waste — like plastic bottles, plastic wrappers, and other non-degradable wrappers. The city of Mombasa generates 2,200 tons of waste per day and only 65% is collected. The rest ends up littering the schools, oceans and community and is an eyesore to all. Burning these items negatively impacts the environment and human health; it is a mess. Therefore, I developed a program that addresses this waste problem and teaches skills and values to the community at the same time. In addition, the program is a wonderful platform to showcase public imagination and creativity through crafting and construction using plastic waste bottles. I developed the program after winning #WorldLitterRun African championships in 2017 and 2020 and was trained on how to craft plastic waste into aesthetic materials – “turning trash to cash.”